USA's Rachael Flatt of Colorado performs during the Women's Short Program Figure Skating Tuesday, February 23, 2010, at Pacific Coliseum. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

One of my favorite stories leading up to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver was that of figure skater Rachael Flatt.

Here was a fresh-faced teenager from Colorado Springs who thrilled the world with her gleeful Olympic performance. Before that, she stole hearts at the U.S. Figure Skating championships in Spokane.

When Flatt came home from Spokane and was feted at her high school, The Denver Post’s John Henderson wrote: “A piece of the Olympic Games came to Cheyenne Mountain High School on Tuesday morning. It was a little part, standing 5-foot-2, a twirling dervish of blond curls and steel-nerved jumps. Rachael Flatt has come home.”

Now she’s reaching out to her fans.

Flatt is the latest participant in The Post’s “Fan Mail” feature. Readers can email The Post to ask Rachel questions about her Olympic experience, her career on the ice and her life off it.
Questions will be accepted through Wednesday.
Please email your questions to Rachael to fanmail@denverpost.com.

Her responses will appear at denverpost.com on Friday and in Saturday’s edition of the newspaper.

USA's Johnny Weir reacts after performing his short program on Tuesday. (AP, Mark Baker)

VANCOUVER — I’ve been listening to Johnny Weir talk about his Olympic journey for more than a month and he continually hammers at the point that the purpose of his popular skating is his performance and not his placement. I’m wondering if that’s why teammate Evan Lysacek is in second place going into Thursday’s long program and Weir is in sixth. There isn’t that much difference in talent but there is in attitude.

Lysacek has a hockey player’s mentality to win; Weir has a ballerina’s mentality to perform.

After Tuesday night’s brilliant but conservative short program, Weir talked about a medal being out of reach. That’s OK, he said. He hopes the audience enjoyed his performance as much as he did and that they enjoy Thursday’s long program as well. Weir trails Japan’s third-place Daisuke Takahashi by only 8.15 points. If Takahashi blows his quad and Weir skates another clean program, he’s in medal contention.

Weir’s problem is what Aspen’s Jeremy Abbott once had. Weir’s a better athlete than he thinks. Wipe away the mascara (yes, he wears it) and you have one of the most gifted athletes in figure skating. His skating skills, jumping ability and artistry are first rate. Yet he seems more focused on providing a show than grabbing glory.

I talked to him about it after today’s practice and he backed off a bit, saying, “Well, I never rule myself out of a medal because I feel like if I did that, I shouldn’t even show up. I should let Ryan Bradley come compete. I’m here to compete and contend for a medal. I was merely stating that a lot of people were counting me out of that top group of men.”

Some observers say it’s Weir’s way of dealing with pressure. His focus on a medal in Turin had him tailspin during his long program from second to fifth. Hey, maybe it works. After three years of inconsistency, Weir has put together one of his most solid seasons in an Olympic year.

“I can say four years ago I was skating more for a medal than I was for the actual performance,” he said. “But now I’ve been around long enough and can see the way things have gone throughout my career with all the ups and downs, the different dramas throughout my career, I’m here to perform and to compete as well as I can.”

He practiced and landed numerous quads today and may use it tomorrow. He hasn’t tried one since the 2008 Worlds. Maybe behind the scenes he’s done the math and figures landing a quad and Takahashi blowing his, they might swap places. Of course, defending silver medalist Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland is fourth.

“It’s a jump for me that depends on the day,” he said. “I have absolutely nothing to lose. So we’ll see.”